This report is an external review of the OCHA Central Register of Disaster Management Capacities (CR). This review is in response to a 2008 resolution of the UN General Assembly. The objective of this review was to assess the value added and the user satisfaction of the CR. Established in 1992, the CR contains five directories of specific disaster management assets and three directories of relevant contact persons. The CR was created to support the quick identification and deployment of emergency assistance. The review adopted a mixed-methods approach employing both quantitative and qualitative methods to collect data and information including interviews, an online survey, a usability expert review and analysis of web metrics (page 9). Overall, this review found that the CR has had limited added value for the UN and the broader humanitarian emergency assistance community. For those that have used the tool their satisfaction has been low. Limited evidence was found that the CR had improved the efficiency and effectiveness of its users. Instances were identified where the CR had been used as it was intended (page 11). But these were insignificant in number as was their contribution to a more rapid identification and deployment of emergency assistance. The review has found that the CR has had limited added value due to the following key reasons: The CR is not known; its role is misunderstood; it is not fully managed; and it is not always compatible with today’s approach to emergency humanitarian assistance. The limited added value of the CR was also reflected in its low user satisfaction of 45% and its compatibility of 58% with usability standards, compared to similar online tools which rated between 83 – 92% (page 21). This review found that the CR had limited relevance to the broader community. The CR did not reach all potential users and this was demonstrated by its low level of usage. The CR has been limited in its effectiveness in providing disaster management information as the majority of CR directories have not been actively managed since 2006 and only 34% of their content was updated in the past two years (page 16). The poor user experience offered by the CR has impacted on its effectiveness in assisting users to obtain and extract information. Alternatives sources now exist and a central repository concept does not seem to be consistent with the way emergency assistance is requested, sourced and delivered today. The CR was not perceived as an authoritative tool or resource for disaster management capacities.
Countries that are in need of emergency assistance have increasingly used bilateral relations, regional mechanism and appeals to source emergency assistance. Governments, NGOs and UN agencies that are sourcing or dispatching emergency assistance have relied on their own mechanisms, existing relationships and networks. The CR has not played an integral role in these processes. Its low visibility, limited use, out-of-date and incomplete data, poor user experience together with the existence of alternative sources and mechanisms to locate and deploy emergency assistance has ensured that the CR could not meet the needs of its users in an appropriate way.